The Sunday News
Rumbidzai Mbewe, Business Correspondent
MINES and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa has urged the corporate sector to support the Tour De Great Dyke so that it is recognised internationally.
Minister Chidhakwa said this during the launch of the second edition of the Tour De Great Dyke held last week at the Great Dyke Investments in Darwendale.
“Let’s make the Tour De Great Dyke big just like other tours being done in the world. Encourage companies to support this so that it can be something big and we should invite people from other countries so that they also come and learn,” he said.
This year, 22 cyclists from different mines took part cycled a total distance of 445,1 kilometres from Darwendale to Zvishavane. Minister Chidhakwa also urged female cyclists to participate.
“This event is not for men only but women should also take part. I am hoping that in the years to come we will be seeing women cycling together with these men at the same time imparting knowledge on the Great Dyke,” he said.
Speaking at the same event, Sports and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane said there was no better way of raising awareness of the Great Dyke than to use the platform of sport which is a neutral junction for people in the country.
“We all converge around sports one way or another, it may not necessarily be cycling but we all converge around sport. It is important as a country to be aware of the environment, what the Great Dyke holds for us, the assets it has that we can use to the beneficiary of our country,” he said.
“It is time we brought back in full force the Chambers (Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines) sport, the relationship between the two (sport and mining) cannot be over-emphasised. The mining industry is a dangerous environment, you need strong mental focus, that strong mental focus comes out of a recreated mindset, recreated body and that recreating comes from what we do in our portfolio,” he said.
YaFM chief executive officer, Mr Munyaradzi Hwengwere said the ignorance about the Great Dyke was very pervasive and as communicators they have a role to play in getting Zimbabweans to know about this resource.
“If at our level we don’t know much about the Great Dyke imagine the generality of Zimbabwe? Imagine we don’t know about what lies in the Great Dyke, what needs to be done to tap investments? As the media organisations we want to be partners with you in saying that story and we said let us do so in an accessible media using cycling with miners themselves cycling across the great dyke,” he said.
